Every now and then a film slinks along, treading the cusp of shadow and darkness, needing the embrace of the light, but stuck in the tight confines of a never ending blackness. Every now and then that film finds the audience that provides the proverbial hands of support to yank that picture from the realm of the untraveled to the global masses. I hope to high heaven that those arms reach out, and those fingers take hold of Panic Button, because this is a masterpiece that flirts with absolute perfection, and if the commercial market is not eventually made privy to this piece of art… well, that would be a damn tragedy, plain and mple.

I absolutely refuse to divulge much in regards to the picture’s plot; to do so would soil an unspoiled canvas, and believe me this painting has dimenons that should not only not go missed, but be studied closely. That said, I’ll give you a sketch of what is a cinematic Pablo Picasso equivalent. Four members of the social networking te All2gethr.com win a trip, all expenses paid, to New York. All four are strangers, which makes the character introduction rather interesting, and quite deceiving, which viewers learn as the film unfolds. Once the group has boarded a charter plane, the trek begins, as do a series of psychological games that ultimately culminate in phycal chaos.

That’s all you get from me so far as the plot is concerned.

Let me stray a tad from the technical end of things and point out the films replay value. I’m not one for films centered in extremely limited locales. I wasn’t big on Buried, and I loathed Phone Booth, but after seeing Panic Button I realize, it’s not about the location in which the tale unravels; its the brain behind the story. An admirable level of thought was invested in Panic Button, which feels a bit like Catfish crashed into Saw at 30,000 feet (with a bit more taste). If there’s any movie that needs to be looked into this year, it’s this one here. Not only is it one of the finest British horror films I’ve ever seen, it’s one of the finest in general; decades from now, Panic Button will still be a foundation of conversation amongst film buffs. Believe it.

Grade: A+

As if the crew behind Panic Button weren’t generous enough providing this movie to the masses, the DVD (which arrives November 7th) is packed with bonus features including: